Andy Murray vs Jurgen Melzer Preview – ATP Rome Masters 2014 Round 3

Day four of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia will feature a compelling match-up between British No. 1 Andy Murray and Austria’s Jurgen Melzer. This marks the sixth time these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour but the first time on clay.

Seventh seed Andy Murray avenged his loss a year ago to Marcel Granollers by defeating the Spaniard 6-2, 7-5 in his opening contest in Rome. It was an impressive showing from the Briton, and one that lasted just 86 minutes in total.

“You need to think your way through the match,” Murray told Sky Sports in an on-court interview. “You have to be patient with yourself. I went for a high percentage of first serves today because it’s very, very windy and also the sun was coming round from one of the ends so that was in your eyes.

“All the dust and stuff was getting in your eyes. It was extremely blustery, strong conditions. From one of the ends it was really tough to get any real depth on the ball. I just tried to play a smart match.”

World No. 67 toppled Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3 in two hours and 22 minutes. The win sets up a third round encounter with Murray, whom he had never defeated on the professional tour. He has not gotten this far in the tournament since 2009, when he defeated both Julien Benneteau and Nikolay Davydenko before losing to Fernando Gonzalez in the third round.

This marks the sixth time these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour but also the first time they clash on the red dirt. Murray continues to improve on this surface but is far from consistent, but he should manage the victory against the Austrian.

Prediction: Andy Murray in Straight Sets

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